ALPHABETICAL BRAIN® VOCABULARY HUMANIST GALAXY OF SECULAR SCIENCE STARS MICHAEL CORBALLIS July 13 2022 TRUTH ABOUT LANGUAGE: What it is and where it came from by Michael C. Corballis. University of Chicago Press, 2017 (i-xi, 260 pages) Quote = "Corballis explains that language evolved as a way to share thoughts — and, crucially for human development, to connect our own 'mental time travel', our imagining of events and people that are not right in front of us, to that of other people. We share that ability with other animals, but it was the development of language that made it powerful: it led to our ability to imagine other perspectives, to imagine ourselves in the minds of others, a development that, by easing social interaction, proved to be an extraordinary evolutionary advantage." (Paraphrased slightly by webmaster from publisher's summary) BOOK OUTLINE Note = Numbers in parentheses refer to pages PREFACE (ix-xi) PART 1 — BACKGROUND TO THE PROBLEM (1-54) Introduction (1-2) 1) THE RUBICON (3-23) [1] Universal grammar? (14-18) [2] Language templates (18-23) 2) LANGUAGE AS MIRACLE (24-39) 3) LANGUAGE AND NATURAL SELECTION (40-54) [1] Spandrels and other potions (42-45) [2] Evo-Devo (46-49) [3] The diversity of languages (49-54) PART 2 — THE MENTAL PREREQUISITES (55-120) Introduction (55-56) 4) THINKING WITHOUT LANGUAGE (57-80) [1] Mind wandering (63-68) [2] Mind wandering in animals (69-72) [3] The hippo in the brain (72-75) [4] The secret life of Walter Ratty (76-79) [5] Implications for language (79-80) 5) MIND READING (81-100) [1] Theory of mind in animals (85-91) [2] Social intelligence (91-94) [3] On the beach (94-97) [4] Patterns of development (97-100) 6) STORIES (101-120) PART 3 — CONSTRUCTING LANGUAGE (121-203) 7) HANDS ON TO LANGUAGE (123-146) 8) FINDING VOICE (147-171) 9) HOW LANGUAGE IS STRUCTURED (172-188) 10) OVER THE RUBICON (189-203) NOTES (205-229) BIBLIOGRAPHY (231-250) INDEX (251-260) AUTHOR NOTES, SUMMARY, AND BOOK DESCRIPTION AUTHOR NOTES = Michael C. Corballis was born in 1936 in New Zealand. He is a psychologist and author. Corballis earned a Master's degree in Mathematics at the University of New Zealand in 1959 and attained a Master of Arts in psychology at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, in 1962. He then moved to McGill University in Montreal, Canada, where he gained a PhD in psychology in 1965, and taught in the Department of Psychology from 1968 to 1978. During his years as a professor at McGill, the main focus of his research was in cognitive neuroscience. He was appointed professor of psychology at the University of Auckland in 1978. Books by Corballis include: Psychology of Left and Right; The Ambivalent Mind — The Neuropsychology of Left and Right; A Very Short Tour of the Mind; The Wandering Mind — What the Brain Does When You're Not Looking [2015]; and The Truth About Language --- What it Is and Where it Came From [2017]. (Paraphrased by webmaster from publisher's blurb) SUMMARY = Evolutionary science has long viewed language as, basically, a fortunate accident — a crossing of wires that happened to be extraordinarily useful. It set humans apart from other animals and onto a trajectory that would see their brains (and the products of those brains) become increasingly complex. However, Michael C. Corballis shows in this book that it is time to reconsider those assumptions. BOOK DESCRIPTION Language, Corballis argues, is not the product of some "big bang" 60,000 years ago, but rather the result of a typically slow process of evolution with roots in elements of grammatical language found much farther back in our evolutionary history. Language, he explains, evolved as a way to share thoughts — and, crucially for human development, to connect our own "mental time travel," our imagining of events and people that are not right in front of us, to that of other people. We share that ability with other animals, but it was the development of language that made it powerful: it led to our ability to imagine other perspectives, to imagine ourselves in the minds of others, a development that, by easing social interaction, proved to be an extraordinary evolutionary advantage. Even as his thesis challenges such giants as Chomsky and Stephen Jay Gould, Corballis writes accessibly and wittily, filling his account with unforgettable anecdotes and fascinating historical examples. The result is a book that is perfect both for deep engagement and as brilliant fodder for that lightest of all forms of language, cocktail party chatter. EDITORIAL BOOK REVIEWS CHOICE REVIEW = This is a nontechnical overview of the current state of research and thinking about the nature and origin of language — thus the subtitle. According to Corballis (emeritus, psychology, Univ. of Auckland, NZ), language is not the result of a semi-miraculous mutational event occurring about 100,000 years ago as some, such as, Noam Chomsky, have held. Rather, humans' unique language facilities evolved over eons from the gestural capacities of early primates. Hand (or paw) and facial gestures such as pointing, waving, and grimacing slowly gave way to verbal expression. This is a plausible explanation of "where it came from." But Corballis's view of "what it is," although widely shared, is dubious. In a chapter titled "Stories," the author writes that "humans ... invented ways to share... thoughts. That is what language is for." It seems more likely that language developed and is for the purpose of enabling humans to coordinate activities. The expression of thoughts is nice but not central to the purpose or origin of language. Corballis covers a large number of topics in animal behavior and human culture, but much of the discussion is superficial and fleeting, albeit entertaining. Corballis is a good writer, and he engages his readers. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers. – Stephen P. Schwartz, Ithaca College. LIBRARY JOURNAL REVIEW = In this provocative and well-written book, Corballis (psychology emeritus, Univ. of Auckland, New Zealand; The Wandering Mind) makes a strong and convincing argument that human language evolved gradually over time and did not come about as a "sudden emergence" as Noam Chomsky and Stephen Jay Gould have claimed. The notion of the evolutionary nature of human language has gained much currency in recent years. And the research of Corballis poses compelling evidence in support of this. The diversity among the more than 6,000 languages that exist may not reflect a progression from one initial tongue to many. In the author's assertion that the emergence of speech was evolutionary — it is possible that language was initially a combination of sight and sound with "the vocal component gradually increasing, diminishing the role of gestures" — he advances the strength of the evolutionary nature of language. As knowledge in the fields of archaeology, technology, neuroscience, and linguistics continues to grow, more will be revealed on this fascinating subject. VERDICT = Linguists, anthropologists, and general readers interested in the evolution of human-language will appreciate this volume. – Herbert E. Shapiro, Lifelong Learning Society., Florida Atlantic University., Boca Raton, FL. REMEMBER ALWAYS: You Are Your Adaptable Memory! Click or Tap Star to: RETURN TO THE HUMANIST HUB OF SECULAR SCIENCE STARS ALPHABETICAL BRAIN® VOCABULARY produced by Infinite Interactive Ideas®